Many states are adopting economic education standards for the K-12curriculum, mandating economic education courses in rural and urban schools.We examine economic education outcomes for rural and urban students usingtest scores gathered during a national high school academic competition andby estimating a production function for economic education. We find onlylimited differences between the education production function in urban andrural settings and lower average scores for rural students. To close thisgap, results suggest that rural schools should place economic content in thesenior-year curriculum and provide teachers with increased postgraduatetraining in economics.

Laboratory market experiments are used to estimate the incidence of astylized subsidy in factor market negotiations with university student andagricultural professional subjects. In separate sessions with both groups,prices converged approximately four and a half tokens higher when a 20-tokenper-unit subsidy was paid to buyers; this equates to 44% of the predicted10-token split. A proportional market incentive treatment clarifies thissubsidy effect. Discrepancies between predicted and observed incidence aresimilar to previous empirical estimates of subsidy incidence in agriculturalland rental markets. A behavioral anomaly as well as buyer-buyer marketcompetition may contribute to experimental results.

Preferences for pomegranates, including some novel pomegranate varieties,were evaluated using an experimental auction and nonhypothetical preferenceranking mechanism. Additional information on the taste and health benefitsof the products was provided to mimic the information-gathering process onnovel products. Product familiarity, product information, and referenceprices were key factors in explaining willingness to pay for the includednovel products. Results from the auction and nonhypothetical preferenceranking procedures were divergent. Furthermore, interactions were detectedbetween information treatments and product characteristics.

We present a demonstration of a Bayesian spatial probit model for adichotomous choice contingent valuation method willingness-to-pay (WTP)questions. If voting behavior is spatially correlated, spatialinterdependence exists within the data, and standard probit models willresult in biased and inconsistent estimated nonbid coefficients. Adjustingsample WTP to population WTP requires unbiased estimates of the nonbidcoefficients, and we find a $17 difference in population WTP per householdin a standard vs. spatial model. We conclude that failure to correctly modelspatial dependence can lead to differences in WTP estimates with potentiallyimportant policy ramifications.

Socioeconomic factors influencing consumer demand for nursery products andlandscape projects were investigated using consumer survey data collectedfrom North Carolina in 2008. Tobit models were estimated for censoreddependent variables, budget expenditure shares on nursery products, andlandscape spending. The most significant factors influencing the share ofincome spent on nursery products were age and household income. The elderlyand baby boomers tend to spend less on bedding plants, perennials, andoutdoor hardscapes than Generations X and Y. The income elasticities suggestthat the amount spent on outdoor living projects is sensitive to changes inhousehold income, whereas spending in vegetable plants and chemicals is lessresponsive to income.

When consumers have heterogeneous perceptions about product quality,traditional parametric methods may not provide accurate marginal valuationestimates of a product's characteristics. A quantile regression frameworkcan be used to estimate valuations of product characteristics when qualityperceptions are not homogeneous. Semiparametric quantile regressions provideidentification and quantification of heterogeneous marginal valuationeffects across a conditional price distribution. Using purchase price datafrom a bull auction, we show that there are nonconstant marginal valuationsof bull carcass and growth traits. Improved understanding of productcharacteristic valuations across differentiated market segments can helpproducers develop more cost-effective management strategies.

This study sought to determine whether monthly revisions of U.S. Departmentof Agriculture current-year corn and soybean yield forecasts are correlatedand whether this correlation is associated with crop size. An ex-ante measure of crop size based on percent deviationof the current estimate from out-of-sample trend is used in efficiency testsbased on the Nordhaus framework for fixed-event forecasts. Results show thatavailable information about crop size is generally efficiently incorporatedin these forecasts. Thus, although this pattern may appear obvious to marketanalysts in hindsight, it is largely based on new information and hencedifficult to anticipate.

In this article, possible use of climate forecasts in rainfall indexinsurance of hay and forage production is considered in a geographical area(southeast United States) relatively heavily impacted by the El NinoSouthern Oscillation (ENSO). Analysis of the stochastic properties ofrainfall, yields, and the ENSO forecasts using the copula technique showsthat the forecast impact depends on the proximity to the Gulf Coast wherethe impact of the ENSO is more pronounced and earlier in the year.Stochastic modeling shows that the use of skillful long-term climateforecasts by the insured producers creates intertemporal adverse selectionthat can be precluded by offering forecast conditional premiums. The impactson the efficiency of the rainfall index insurance and results of sensitivityanalysis with respect to model parameters are discussed.

This article analyzes the economies of capacity use regarding hot waterdecontamination to reduce postslaughter risk of pathogens in meat, takinginterfarm heterogeneities of Salmonella risk and costs oftransportation into account, using Denmark as a case study. If riskreduction goals are stated at the processing plant level, then theexploitation of the favorable cost-effectiveness properties of hot waterslaughtering requires fairly ambitious risk reduction goals and thus highuse of decontamination capacity. If instead risk reduction goals areformulated for the sector as a whole, the cost-effectiveness properties canbe exploited even for relatively low-risk reduction goals.

Although the negative externalities of large-scale hog production have beenwell studied, econometric estimates of its potentially positive labormarkets effects are lacking. We use the geographic shifts in large-scale hogproduction between 1992 and 2007 to estimate such production's effects onlocal farm and nonfarm labor markets. We find that every additional 1000head at large-scale facilities in a county generates 0.57 additionallarge-scale hog operation jobs, 0.04 fewer small-scale hog operation jobs,0.16 fewer nonhog-related agricultural jobs, and 0.59 additional nonfarmjobs, for a total of 0.96 jobs. Our total estimate is lower than previousones based on input-output modeling.

This article determines the accuracy of quarterly land value forecastsprovided by bankers through the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions. Bankers'qualitative forecasts of up, down, or no change are compared against actual,self-reported changes in land values. A large proportion of bankers forecastno change. Despite this action, aggregates of bankers' qualitative forecastshelp predict changing land values and forecast better than naïve models.Thus, the forecasts in the survey are helpful in predicting land values.

U.S. rice industry producers face pressure from consumers, suppliers, andthe government to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated withrice (Oryza sativa L.) production. Arkansas ricecultivar-specific net GHG emissions information allows models of paddy riceemissions. Baseline levels of profit, yield variance, and GHG emissions areestablished using extension data. Varietal selection is then optimized tomaximize profits and minimize GHG emissions, both constrained andunconstrained by baseline yield variance. Carbon abatement functions areestimated to examine the effects of hypothetical carbon prices on varietalselection.